Sections 36-40 give no rituals, only the ministerial approach to the period known as “Evangelization and Precatechumenate.” We might be exploding a few myths in these next few posts. Lots of parishes start out from the first meeting inundating inquirers with doctrine. Could that approach work intellectually? I don’t see why not. But is it what the Church calls for in the rites? Let’s read:

36. Although the rite of initiation begins with admission to the catechumenate, the preceding period or precatechumenate is of great importance and as a rule should not be omitted. It is a time of evangelization: faithfully and constantly the living God is proclaimed and Jesus Christ whom he has sent for the salvation of all. Thus those who are not yet Christians, their hearts opened by the Holy Spirit, may believe and be freely converted to the Lord and commit themselves sincerely to him. For he who is the way, the truth and the life fulfills all their spiritual expectations, indeed infinitely surpasses them. (Ad Gentes 13)

We’re going to take these parts of RCIA very slowly and carefully. Many pastors and liturgists and catechumenate directors gloss over these parts. Wrong move. Even though no rituals are given here, we get ample clues as to how a parish should handle inquirers to the faith. What does this section tell us? Quite a lot.

1. Don’t jump into the rite of acceptance too soon.

2. Ministers must have a trinitarian approach from the very start. God is proclaimed and Jesus is introduced to the people. The Holy Spirit is discerned working in the hearts (not the minds) of the newcomers.

3. What would the commitment of the inquirer look like as she or he approached a final decision? Here is where conversion is properly applied–not to Protestants coming to Catholicism. We speak of conversion to Jesus Christ, not to the Church of Jesus Christ. The goal of evangelization is “sincere commitment” to Christ, to following him, and to making a decision to adhere to what Christ asks of them spiritually.

We see here and will see in sections 37-40 that the precatechumenate is not about doctrine, is not primarily about the intellect, and it may amaze you that it isn’t even about Catholicism so much as it is about God. More about that over the next few days. Any thoughts or comments?

One Response to RCIA 36: Period of Evangelization

I love what you’ve written here about the precatechumenate. The parish where I am now seems to keep their RCIA hidden. It certainly does not take place in the midst of the community. One would think after all this time our RCIA directors would have a better handle on how to do this process. I still see it done as a “program” by people who don’t know what they are doing. How can we reach pastors and inform them that their directors need some training in order to carry out this process of the RCIA? Not being directly involved in this process now it pains me to see it done so badly.
from Tuscuney

about Todd Flowerday

A Roman Catholic lay person, married (since 1996), with one adopted child (since 2001). I serve in worship and spiritual life in a midwestern university parish.

about John Donaghy

John is a lay missionary since 2007 with a parish in western Honduras. Before that he served in campus ministry and social justice ministry in Iowa. His ministry blog is http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com

He also blogs reflections on the lectionary and saints/heroes/events of the date at http://walktheway.wordpress.com

He'll be a long-term contributor here analyzing the Latin American bishops' document from their 2007 Aparecida Conference.